Monterey symposium examines homelessness

There are 2,500 to 3,000 homeless people in Monterey County. Half are classified as "chronic homeless," meaning they have a documented disability or have been without a residence for a year or longer. The county has about 250 homeless families.

"These are the people we can find, and the people who fit a very strict definition of 'homeless,'" said Supervisor Jane Parker, keynote speaker at United Way Monterey County's "Hungry and Homeless in Paradise" symposium Saturday at Monterey Peninsula College. "If you start to think about the number of families who are living in a garage, or crowded into one bedroom at the home of a friend or relative, or sleeping on a couch, the numbers go much higher very quickly."

The ugly truth in "paradise" is that the majority of locals who are fortunate enough to be employed are also in dire straits: More than half the jobs in Monterey County pay minimum wage or less — a fact that brings up another dismal set of statistics.

"There's a table in the weekly home report that shows how many hours a person earning minimum wage must work to afford an apartment in Monterey County," Parker said. "To live in a studio apartment in our area, a person earning minimum wage must work 83 hours in a week. To afford a one-bedroom apartment, the number is 94 hours. A person needs to work 108 hours in a single week to pay for a two-bedroom apartment, and 152 hours for a three-bedroom apartment."

Those figures do not include food, utilities, car repair, medical bills or any other necessities that might compete for a person's dollars, she said.

Those stark realities were the rallying cry that attracted hundreds of residents — some homeless — to MPC for a five-hour summit designed to identify the issues surrounding homelessness and to discuss possible solutions.

The symposium comes as the Monterey City Council is set Tuesday to discuss possible new ordinances to address frequent complaints from residents, tourists and the business community about homeless people and panhandlers downtown and in other areas. One ordinance under discussion would make it a crime to sit or lie on sidewalks or other public spaces.

10-year plan

Saturday's symposium featured breakout sessions on topics that included health care, public policy, faith-based initiatives and shelters. The sessions were largely town-hall style gatherings that solicited input from those attending.

One session was titled "Our Community's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness." The plan was created in 2010-11 by HomeBase/Center for Common Concerns, a nonprofit public-policy law firm based in San Francisco, using input from "a wide array of community stakeholders."

The plan, accepted by the boards of supervisors in Monterey and San Benito counties, calls for access to housing and housing services, and transition services for people who have just been released from jails, medical facilities and foster programs.

Much of the strategy involves streamlining processes, improving communication and eliminating the bureaucratic red tape that tends to clog the system.

"Let's say a single male comes to a shelter that is for women and children only. So that person is told, 'I'm sorry, you don't qualify here.' That person then might have to go from program to program to program, trying to find somewhere to be, and therefore might be more likely to simply give up," said HomeBase attorney Carolyn Wylie. "Instead, we'd have a coordinated system in which the person could make one telephone call, or be sent to a center that is a one-entry point. It would be a coordinated system where all people could go (to find solutions to their problems)."

Looking for solutions

Audience members pointed out specific issues commonly faced by the homeless, including what they called a tendency to regard them as "second-class citizens" and to dismiss their problems.

They suggested a need for free transportation to get the services they require. They asked for more responsive, more flexible agencies. They advocated local jobs that pay a living wage, and more affordable housing.

"I think it's important to try to lower the cost of living, rather than try to increase income, for the homeless," said Charles Wilson, a Peninsula resident with homelessness in his history and a computer science degree on his résumé. "Rent should not be more than one-third of income for anyone."

Another woman called for the decriminalization of homelessness and an end to harassment by law enforcement officers of people living and sleeping in public places.

One homeless man, who said his street name is "Bones," said current laws make getting assistance difficult for anyone with a felony drug conviction.

"It's against federal law for drug offenders to use federal funds for a lot of this stuff. I don't have any drug convictions, but I have felonies on my record, which is what's holding me back from getting a real job," he said. "People who have serious drug problems and get out of prison and can't get their stuff together because of these federal laws that stand in their way ... that really screws things up for everybody. The guy is on the street, he's a drug addict, he doesn't have a job, he can't get any kind of federal assistance because it's against the law, and the cycle just continues."